INFLUENCE OF TELEVISION POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS ON ELECTORATES’ PERCEPTION OF 2015 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

ABSTRACT

This research examined the influence of television political advertising on electorate perception of candidate in the 2015 presidential election using Akure south local government as a case study. The study sought to find out the extent to which the electorates’ in Ondo state were exposed to political advertisement and  limited to advertisement on television which mostly portray the vision of the presidential candidates.

The study employed the survey research design using a structured questionnaire to gather data from respondents. Five hundred and ninety two copies of questionnaires were distributed across the four selected wards in Akure South local government, with four hundred and fifty six copies duly completed and returned. The research work relied on three theories: Perception theory, Source credibility theory and Agenda setting theory.  Descriptive statistics was used to analyze and provide answers to the research questions of the study while inferential statistics were used for the hypotheses. The multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for this study, a state was randomly selected through balloting in South-West Nigeria; this was carried out so as to give equal chance of representation for all the states in South-West to be part of the study.

The findings indicated that; the electorates’ in Ondo state were well exposed to political advertisement on television, the respondents were influenced in their choice of presidential candidate to the extent that they perceived the messages to be credible and changed their perception towards the candidate. In support of the above, over 76% of the respondents watched the Presidential televised advertisement in 2015.

 In the light of the findings, the study concluded that television political advertisement was an essential factor in the political decisions of the electorates’,Television, an electronic audio-visual media aid use for disseminating information, has gained wide acceptance and use among Nigerians as observed in this study.  Finally, it was recommended that since literacy level among Nigerians is on the increase, more authentic source of accessing information about political candidates should be sourced.

Keywords: Influence, Source Credibility, Agenda Setting and   Perception

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background to the Study

Communication is very vital in human relationship; it is through it we get to know more about happenings around us. In this sense, it is a viable means of influencing people’s opinion either positively or negatively. Opubor (1976) asserts that human communication is a flexible technique through which man adapts to his environment and adapts the environment to himself for the purpose of achieving greater control over it. In essence, human activities and aspirations cannot be achieved without communication. Clegg(2005)notes that “communication is not just the sharing of information among people but also a process of ‘‘creating, shaping, and maintaining relationships and enacting shared values, common culture, agreed goals, and means for their achievement’’ (p.76). While man is said to be a political animal with a natural inclination to be partisan, communication drives the political activities of man.

In political communication (political advertisement),the primary aim of the political party and candidates is to get the electorates favourably disposed to the party. Electorates are lured through messages or statements projecting the party in a positive light, dissuading the electorate from whatever misgivings they might harbor against the party and persuading them to abandon the opposition. Due to the relevance of communication to governance and democracy, political advertisements have become an essential aspect of communication in the democracies of the world”. (Kaid, 2005).

Politics as the dynamics surrounding power is a universal process which occurs at all times. Politics is described as issues that are concerned with acquiring or exercising power within a group or organization, the science and art of government. Hornby (1995) defines politics as the form of organization, administration and management of the state. It may be said, that politics is the generalized process by which the struggle over power in the society is resolved, the form or arena where control of the economy and issues concerning a nation are negotiated and addressed. Wilson (1983) describes it as a humble way of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich by assuring to protect each against the other. (p. 32). In other words, politics entails interaction by all parties involved in persuading and mobilizing to fit into the socio-political system through effective communication.